Impact100 Garden State awards $100,000 grants to nonprofits each year, based on member votes. The organization also gives Merit Grants to finalists who don’t receive the $100,000 grants.
In June 2022, Impact100 Garden State awarded a total of $20,000 in Merit Grants ($5,000 each) to these organizations: Cheshire Home, based in Florham Park; Community in Crisis, based in Bernardsville; Domestic Abuse & Sexual Assault Intervention Services, Inc. (DASI), based in Newton; and St. Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Merit Grants are unrestricted, meaning that they are not tied to a particular program.
“Each of these organizations does essential work and has undergone rigorous review by our grant review teams,” says Debby Seme, President of Impact100 Garden State. “We’re thrilled to support them in the significant impact they’re making in their communities.”
Impact’s Grant Administration Committee recently followed up with those organizations to see how they made use of the $5,000 grants:
Cheshire Home, which helps improve the lives of their residents who are young adults with spinal cord injuries, used the award to support their overall operating budget and continue supporting in-place programs.
Community in Crisis utilized the funds to support the creation of a community center for all. The award enabled them to purchase furniture, a refrigerator, coffee machine and games to complete the furnishing of the floor.
DASI, based in Newton, combined our award with other funding to get their Holistic Healing Program off the ground. Program highlights included hosting a RiseUp! Poetry Group, Trauma-Informed Yoga sessions and an exhibit of survivors’ works of art (with 2 artists selling their works).
St. Joseph Social Service Center used the funding to support piloting the Healthier Tomorrow Program. This program offers regular blood pressure monitoring, access to fresh food, prescription assistance and healthy lifestyle training.
Congratulations to the four finalists who leveraged these awards to further their mission and programs. Special thanks to Grant Administration committee member Karen Secular, who helped coordinate the Merit Grants.